Beyond XX and XY

An interesting report on the BBC (thanks to Ennis) about a Nigerian soccer player who used to be a woman. James Johnson used to play for the women’s football team, till it was discovered that she was a hermaphrodite. Iyabode Abade, as she was known then, was dropped from the team. She worked as a coach, and eventually the Nigerian government agreed to fund a sex-reassignment surgery. Now known as James Johnson, he plays for the men’s teams.

According to the Intersex Society of America 1 in 1500 to 2000 babies are born with ambiguous genitalia, but if you count subtler variations the number is higher, not to mention chromosomal variations. However, the issues often become one of social and legal definition. 0.1 to 0.2 percent of infants born in the US undergo some sort of“normalizing” surgery.

Speaking of hermaphrodites, there is an urban legend that Jamie Lee Curtis was born a hermaphrodite!